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TR6 Horns stay on continuously

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ichthos

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I just finished putting in new bushings in my steering column and putting in my newly refurbished steering wheel. I have had the horns disconnected for a while because every time I turned, the horns would go off intermittently. Hooked up the horns, and now the horns stay on. Any ideas as to what I am doing wrong? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Kevin
 
The wheel is touching the outer column...or vice versa? Try slacking off the inner column clamps and pull the steering wheel and column out just that little bit (maybe 1/16" or so?), and I'm thinking that should do it (worked for me in the past)!
 
Does the horn sound continuously if you remove the horn button and the pull the horn bush out of the steering wheel hub ?
 
So, I moved the hub about 1/8" (the part the steering wheel bolts to) out from the steering column, and the horns stop. Now I have no horns at all. Since I have horns when the steering hub touches, that would mean that the problem would have to be contained in the hub, correct? I bought a new horn button, and powder coated the steering column/cowl and hub, painted the steering wheel, and now I am wondering if that is making a difference -suggestions?
 
I have not worked on a TR6 horn push so forgive the following as I am basing my comments on typical Lucas horn circuits including cars like my Spitfire and GT6.

First, some additional reading and pictures that may help.
https://tr6.danielsonfamily.org/SteeringColumn.htm
https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?38900-TR6-horn-button

OK, you have pulled the hub forward (towards you) and the horn no longer is automatically "on". That says you have pulled the hub away from the slip ring where it was probably touching. That's good. Now that the horn will not honk when the push button is used suggests that the brush pencil is not touching anymore. The link below shows the horn brush.
https://www.sportscarsupplies.com/e...r-tube-spitfire-tr-gt6-herald-kits-1037-p.jpg

Horn circuits are activated by providing a path to ground. The steering rack is grounded and the ground passes up through the column to the steering wheel hub. The clip on the outside edge of the horn push pushes against the wheel or hub and is therefore at ground potential. When you push the button it closes a contact and connects the "tab" on the back of the horn push button to the horn brush (picture linked above). The bottom end of the brush rubs against the slip ring behind/below the hub. Finally a wire from the slip ring travels down the column and is connected to either the horns or a horn relay (depending on the car).

So a horn that honks when you turn the wheel probably has the slip ring too close to the hub and makes contact somewhere during wheel rotation due to a high spot somewhere... or from axial movement of the column. Now that your horn doesn't work you may find it is just a bit too far out and the horn brush is no longer making contact. So you can... maybe move it back in about 1/16", OR look for a new horn brush that is longer... OR put a blob of solder on the TOP end of the brush that touches the back of the horn push. You want the solder blob on the top, not the end that rubs against the slip ring. (There should already be a solder joint on that end of the brush).
 
dklawson said:
I have not worked on a TR6 horn push so forgive the following as I am basing my comments on typical Lucas horn circuits including cars like my Spitfire and GT6.
Click to expand...
Same column, so same principle!

dklawson said:
Now that your horn doesn't work you may find it is just a bit too far out and the horn brush is no longer making contact. So you can... maybe move it back in about 1/16"
Click to expand...
+1 on this! ;)
 
Thanks for the help. I am not sure if I made it clear, but the reason the horns went off when I turned is that my steering column was so loose. I will try playing ith the spacing tomorrow and let you know how it works. The whole horn system sure seems temperamental .
 
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